A couple and their young daughters search for their dream cabin in America's Dairyland; they are looking for a log home with a lake access and room for family and friends to visit in the quaint town of Mauston, Wis.

A couple seeks a lakeside cabin in the New Hampshire countryside for extended family gatherings; they want something with a rustic woodwork aesthetic that has a modern kitchen and a lawn for their two boys to play on.

High school sweethearts from Greenville, Mass. are ready to upgrade to a log cabin where they can raise their growing family in a secluded area where the kids can play, but is still close to town amenities.

A couple and their three-year-old daughter search for a cabin with unparalleled views and access to the great outdoors near Fairbanks, Alaska.

A city-dwelling couple want to trade bumper-to-bumper traffic for a home where they can raise their two kids immersed in nature seven days a week; they look in the foothills surrounding the little mining town of Cripple Creek.

Busy parents of three search for a vacation getaway in the Pocono Mountains near a ski hill where they can unplug and reconnect.

Newlyweds who spent their childhoods in the country long to return; in Rhode Island, they look for a cabin with some land where they can reconnect with nature and their dogs have plenty of room to explore.

A young Minnesota family gets ready to settle down and grow in a small-town cabin; they hope to find a home with enough bedrooms for them to expand into and enough acreage for their kids to ditch technology and explore nature.

After spending three years on assignment in Shanghai, China, a couple looks to slow their pace and buy a log cabin in Maggie Valley, N.C.

A couple from Maryville, Tenn., is on the hunt for a cabin where they can get their hands dirty and grow their own food; they hope to find a cabin with breathtaking views and a spacious kitchen, with plenty of acreage to share with their four kids.

An active and outdoorsy family of five looks for a log cabin getaway in the rustic mountain destination of Big Bear Lake, Calif.

Ryan, Tara and their sporty sons are looking for the perfect log cabin in Vermont with enough land to raise chickens and plant a garden.

A couple decides to ditch their fast-paced lives in Boise, ID, for a move to Garden Valley. With so many outdoor activities in the area, they feel it's the perfect place to escape and reconnect as a family. She wants a cabin with large windows that let in natural light, and he's looking for a property with a low-maintenance yard.

A military woman loves the traveling aspect of her career, but misses her family and childhood spent in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, so she enlists her best friend from high school to help her search for a home base.

In Colorado's Vail Valley, a young couple looks for their first home together; they would like to be able to ski, bike and hike with their dogs easily as well as have extra space for entertaining guests.

In Louisville, Ky., a couple and their two children search for a cabin; she wants to raise the children in a small town, where they can roam on their own land and spend quality time as a family.

A Tucson couple want a cabin retreat in Mount Lemmon, Ariz., where they can hike with their dogs, rock climb and relax while enjoying each other's company.

A couple comb the hills of central Vermont for a one-of-a-kind cabin to raise their son in; they look for a turnkey home with rustic charm that has two full bathrooms, a spacious kitchen and plenty of acreage for the family to enjoy.

An outdoorsy Seattle couple wants to escape their busy city life and move to a log cabin near a body of water as well as a shop for their glassblowing studio.

Brad and Anna are looking for a log cabin in the countryside of southwestern Pennsylvania, but need a commute under 30 minutes; she would like an open kitchen and they both want private acreage where they can explore and let their dogs run free.

A couple with two young children searches for a log cabin in High Point, N.C., hoping to unwind in the solitude of nature as a family; the couple wants a cabin with plenty of outdoor space for the kids to explore.

Making one's home on a tropical island sounds like an expensive proposition, but this house-hunting series shows it can be done within almost any budget as families seek to find their own corner of paradise. The featured properties run the gamut from ultra-affordable to totally outrageous, located in places like Key West, Fla., Kodiak Island, Alaska, Mount Desert Island in Maine, and Washington State's San Juan Islands. Everyday families ready to start a new adventure, escape hectic lifestyles in cookie-cutter subdivisions, or simply get away from cold and snow, prove that island fantasies can be reality.

House-hunting programs on HGTV cover all the options, from buyers honing in on fixer-uppers and off-the-grid options to cabin cribs and container homes. On "Lakefront Bargain Hunt," the spotlight is on water lovers who dream of weekends or summers living by the dock of the bay. In each episode, a family on the hunt for an escape from the hustle and bustle of their busy lives tours multiple waterfront properties. With the help of a real estate agent, the hope is to find the perfect lakeside home without breaking the bank.

There's a trend in U.S. housing, albeit a very small one. Drawn to the prospect of financial freedom, a simpler lifestyle, and limiting one's environmental footprint, more buyers are opting to downsize -- in some cases, to spaces no larger than 600 square feet. Where are these homes, and how do buyers find them? In this series realtors help people find perfect compact kingdoms -- from full-time residences to seasonal getaways. Shoppers in each episode get to see three styles before they decide which is their best fit.

HGTV's series "Caribbean Life" follows families as they pack up and head to the Caribbean. In each episode, a couple search for an affordable slice of heaven as they tour homes on white, sandy beaches. The real estate advisers chosen to help must find locations for growing families, couples just starting out, and families looking for a fresh start, while sticking to their respective budgets. Leaving their lives in the states behind, these couples and families hope to start over in paradise, but for a price each can afford.

As one of the lead designers for nine seasons on ABC's Emmy-winning "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Paul DiMeo encountered his share of next-to-impossible construction projects. So building wilderness retreats is a walk in the park by comparison, right? Not so fast. Paulie, as he is known, and master fabricator Pat "Tuffy" Bakaitis are partners in a cabin design and construction business called Cabin Kings, and in "Building Wild," the duo create unbelievable rustic getaways, transforming discarded materials into eye-catching contraptions and overcoming outrageous building challenges along the way. In each episode, Paulie and Tuffy provide the big ideas and construction know-how to a client looking to build a backwoods paradise on a challenging property. To keep costs low, the landowners supply some materials, bring together a workforce of friends and family and agree to do the entire build in one week.